Violent crime on the increase in Broward schools

Violent crimes are becoming more prevalent on Broward's public school campuses, with six cases reported last year for every 1,000 students, newly released figures show.

There were roughly four incidents of battery, sexual battery, robbery, kidnapping or homicide per 1,000 students the year before.

"There is not enough security at the schools," said Jack Marziliano, who represents some Broward school district workers in the Federation of Public Employees. "There is a safety problem. It comes down to a money issue."

Concerns about school security have taken on greater urgency after two separate attacks on campus this month. Last week, a 14-year-old West Park boy was accused of breaking his 12-year-old ex-girlfriend's nose as the two got off the bus at McNicol Middle School in Hollywood. That happened just days after the brutal beating of 15-year-old Josie Lou Ratley at Deerfield Middle School, which garnered national attention. Wayne Treacy, 15, was charged with attempted murder in the attack.

Between 2008 and 2009, violent crimes at Broward schools jumped 27 percent, to 1,473 incidents from 1,162, according to the new state Department of Education numbers. The increase came as enrollment dropped and budget cuts forced a reduction in school resource officers, from 167 in 2006 to 127 officers today.

"School resource officers do reduce violence among students in schools," said Michael Dale, a law professor at Nova Southeastern University, who specializes in juvenile law. "Parents should be concerned. The kids who might be committing crimes are less likely to do so, and the other students will feel safer and will be more likely to report problems to the officer.

The Department of Education agrees. It issued a report in 2002 calling for an increase in resource officers, who they termed "critical to ensuring a safe school environment."

School safety "is a really big issue,'' said Enngy Velandia, of Sunrise, whose eighth-grade daughter was confronted by bullies in middle school.

"More has to be done to increase security at schools,'' she said. "Teachers can only do but so much."

Pete Vazquez said he talked to district adminstrators after his kindergarten son was scratched by a classmate whom he said attacked several others as well.

"The school board has not done enough to protect our children," said Vazquez, of Fort Lauderdale. "The district needs to put some meat behind security programs. It's a concern because not as much time is being spent on learning."

To cope with fewer resource officers, principals are increasingly turning to campus monitors and private security specialists hired by the district to patrol schools. But unlike officers, they do not have the authority to arrest students and monitors cannot break up fights because they are not permitted to touch students.

Modest fights and other minor dust-ups between students can be handled by teachers, administrators and security specialists.

To further ensure safety, teachers and administrators are being told to remain vigilant and talk to students about potential violence, said Robert Dinkel Jr., who oversees the district's school safety and the school resource officer program.

The district hopes to thwart violence through programs such as its "Silence Hurts" campaign, which asks students to warn the district of threats and impending violence via anonymous tips, either by phone, text or on the web. Since the start of the school year, the district has received 115 phone tips related to everything from bullying to drugs, said district spokesman Eddie Arnold.

"All of these tips were investigated, and in doing that we have avoided potential problems," Arnold said. "It has been successful. It makes sense because if we know of something that is brewing, we can easily defuse it."

Broward schools share the cost of resource officers with local cities and the county. In 2008, the district agreed to pay an increasing portion for the officers through the 2011-12 school year. The idea was to help cash-strapped municipalities offset some of the cost.

This year, the district will pay up to $29,126 toward the cost of keeping each officer on campus, up from $12,000 for its portion in the 2006-07 school year. Salary, pension, benefits and cost of a vehicle for a full-time officer costs roughly $130,500 annually.

The newest violent crime figures update reports from 2006 and 2007, which showed the number of incidents dropped from 1,245 cases in the 2006-07 school year to 1,162 cases in the 2007-08 school year. Enrollment fell by roughly 3,700 students in the same period.

The latest report includes the 2008 slaying of Amanda Collette in a crowded Dillard High School hallway and the deadly 2009 shooting of Gregory Smith, 16,as he was leaving an evening talent show at Boyd Anderson High School.

Student Teah Wimberly, 16, was sentenced to 25 years in prison Friday for gunning down Collette, allegedly because of unrequited love.

Both Dillard and Boyd Anderson have school resource officers. An officer was assigned to Boyd Anderson when Smith was shot, but the school lost one for a short period last fall. An outcry from parents led to a reinstatement. Dillard had an school officer when Collette was shot.

In the attacks this month, McNicol's resource officer responded to the fight, while the officer assigned to Deerfield Beach Middle was patrolling just outside campus and arrived right after Treacy's arrest.

Dinkel blamed broader societal trends for the uptick in school crime.

"From my experience as a policeman, I would suspect that violence has risen in general because of what is happening out there in society," Dinkel said. "I don't think it's related necessarily just to the schools. It's related to economic issues, and our youth are more exposed to violence than we are."